Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護, Kurosaki Ichigo) is a Human who has Shinigami powers. He is also a Substitute Shinigami. Ichigo is the son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki, and older brother of Karin and Yuzu. Appearance Ichigo's most distinguishing feature is his spiky orange hair, a trait he has been ridiculed about for years on end. He is a fairly tall, lean-built young man with peach skin and brown eyes. He likes to wear tight clothes. He has a tendency to wear shirts patterned with the number 15 because his name is a homonym for the number. Since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin. When in his spiritual form, Ichigo wears the standard Shinigami attire, with the addition of a strap across his chest. Initially, it was a thick brown belt to hold his Zanpakutō sheath, but it later became a red rosary-like strap. It is shaped like a kite with a flat top and bottom. Ichigo's appearance has caused several people, including Jūshirō Ukitake, to note a similarity to Kaien Shiba, the former Lieutenant of the 13th Division. Personality When he was younger, Ichigo considered his mother to be the center of his world, always smiling when he was with Masaki and regularly holding her hand.Bleach manga; Chapter 19, page 11 Despite crying whenever he lost in a match at the dojo he attended, Ichigo started to smile again as soon as he saw Masaki when she came to pick him up.Bleach manga; Chapter 18, pages 3-5 At a very young age, Ichigo heard his father saying his name means "to protect one thing," which instilled in him a desire to protect his mother. When his sisters were born, he began attending a dojo for the sake of protecting them. Since then, the number of people he wishes to protect has continued to grow, causing Ichigo to risk his life to protect both the people close to him and complete strangers.Bleach manga; Chapter 19, pages 9-13''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 1, pages 32-34''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 1, page 13 As a teenager, Ichigo is stubborn, short-tempered, strong-willed, and impulsive.Bleach manga; Chapter 2, page 6''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 34, page 9 Despite claiming not to care about what other people think about him, he attempts to maintain a detached and "cool" image.Bleach manga; Chapter 15, page 8 He generally keeps his face set in a near-permanent scowl, with his eyebrows drawn together.Bleach manga; Chapter 22, page 16 His outspoken, hot-headed demeanor is a trait Ichigo himself has acknowledged, and if somebody picks a fight with him, he cannot help fighting back. He coldly refers to his teachers as "instructors".Bleach manga; Chapter 34, pages 9-10 He is genuinely compassionate and empathetic towards others, promising to bring a Plus flowers''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 1, page 9 and a toy plane,Bleach manga; Chapter 0 Side A, pages 6-7 or soothing others when they become upset.Bleach manga; Chapter 74, pages 6-8 History Ichigo claims that he has been able to see ghosts for as long as he can remember. The month before Ichigo became a Shinigami, Karin tried to organize a flower viewing session between humans and ghosts, using Ichigo's ability to see ghosts to bring them together, in an attempt to make some money. Ichigo refused to go along with her project. Plot Agent of the Shinigami Arc Ichigo first appears at 7.13 p.m. of a Friday afternoon, in Karakura Town, having just knocked out Yama with a kick to the face and demanding him and his friends to immediately leave the place. Toshi demands an explanation from Ichigo and threatens him, but Ichigo simply kicks him in the face as well. Toshi's friends get scared by Ichigo's violent actions, some even saying that they'll get killed for sure if they fight him. Ichigo then stomps Toshi's head against the ground and tells everyone to shut up and look at the street corner, where Yama knocked some flowers down with his skateboard. He then points towards Mit, calls him stinky, and asks him if he knows what those flowers are. Mit answers by saying that they're an offering to a little girl who died there recently. Ichigo then rewards Mit for answering correctly with a kick to the face that knocks him out. Ichigo then asks to the remaining ones why the vase is knocked over. Someone answers by saying that they knocked it over with their skateboards, so Ichigo demands them to apologize to the ghost of the girl, who only he can see. Frightened, all of them quickly beg for forgiveness and run away, dragging their fallen friends along with them. Ichigo tells the ghost that if they scare them like that they probably won't come back and then apologizes for using her like that. She claims that since she was the one to ask for his help, she had to at least cooperate with him. Ichigo says goodbye to the girl and tells her he will bring new flowers for her soon. She thanks him and says that she now can spend her time quietly, to which Ichigo answers by telling her to hurry up to go to heaven. Ichigo arrives at home and gets immediately kicked in the face by his father for being late. Isshin calls Ichigo a delinquent and reminds him that dinner is always at 7. Ichigo gets in his face and demands to know if that is a proper way to greet a son who just returned from performing a serious exorcism, to which Isshin replies that to those who disrupt his house's harmony, only a punishment of blood can be rendered. Isshin then accuses Ichigo of bragging that only him can see, touch and talk to ghosts, but Ichigo reminds him he didn't wish to be born that way. Ichigo then gives his opinion on the rules of the house being too strict and complains about the hours of dinner, until Yuzu points out that there's someone haunting him once again. Ichigo complains that he gets rid of them time and time again, but they always return. Karin then tries to convince Yuzu of a new project of hers, involving the organization of a picnic between humans and ghosts, to which Ichigo angrily tells her to stop trying to make money using him. Isshin sees an opening and attacks Ichigo, putting him in a cross armbreaker hold, but Ichigo easily counters and throws him away. Ichigo then gives up and goes to his room. In his room, as Ichigo starts to wonder why everyone in the family is like that, a black swallow-tail butterfly enters in his room. As Ichigo follows the creature with his eyes, he notices Rukia Kuchiki, a girl wearing a black kimono, entering the room by his window and stepping on his desk. The girl completely ignores him and mumbles something, causing Ichigo to angrily kick her from behind. Ichigo accuses her of being a burglar and of being searching for the safe. As she is still wondering how Ichigo can see her, Isshin suddenly crashes into the room and dropkicks him from behind. As Isshin orders him to be quiet, Ichigo counters with a kick to the face and says there's a motive for him to be making noise. He then points at Rukia and asks what's going on with the house's security system. Isshin claims there's no one there and before Ichigo can explain it any further, Rukia tells him that no ordinary human can see her, because she is a Shinigami. After Isshin leaves, Rukia explains to Ichigo that she comes from Soul Society to exterminate evil spirits, but Ichigo doesn't believe her and flips the table on her. She asks him how he can't believe in Shinigami when he can see ghosts, to which he replies he never saw a Shinigami to know and that he doesn't believe on what he doesn't see. Ichigo acknowledges that she isn't human since his father couldn't see her, but tells her to quit on making him believe that she is a Shinigami, calls her a little brat and tries to force her out of the room. Angry, she casts Bakudō #1: Sai, a Kidō spell, on Ichigo. The spell forces both of Ichigo's hands behind his back and she pushes him to the ground with her foot, before explaining that Kidō is an advanced technique that only Shinigami can use. Rukia then claims to be about 10 times older than Ichigo and, therefore, claims she should kill him for calling her a little brat, but that she won't do it because it's against the law to kill humans without specific orders. Rukia calls Ichigo a little brat and seemingly brings her sword down on him, but instead performs Konsō on the spirit that had been haunting Ichigo lately. As the ghost disappears without a trace, Ichigo asks where she sent him. Rukia then explains to Ichigo that sending ghosts to Soul Society is a Shinigami's duty and the equivalent to what humans call "going to heaven". Rukia continues her explanation with the help of some of her own illustrations. She explains that there are two types of souls: one called Plus, which is the most common spirit; and the other called Hollow, evil spirits that attack living beings and dead beings alike to feed on their souls. Rukia asks if Ichigo has any questions, to which he asks why her drawings are so bad. She ends up drawing a big mustache on his face as punishment. Rukia says that Shinigami have two duties: one is to guide the Pluses to Soul Society through Konsō; the other is to exterminate the Hollows. She also informs him that her current mission is the later, causing Ichigo to ask if there are Hollows nearby. As she answers positively, Ichigo tells her to stop fooling around and to go get rid of it, but Rukia claims she can't sense the Hollow anymore. As Ichigo is about to ask her what she means, he hears a loud roar. Rukia claims there's a great power hindering her senses and Ichigo asks her if she didn't hear the loud noise. Only then does she hear it and both of them suddenly hear Yuzu crying in pain. Ichigo asks Rukia if that first noise was a Hollow, something Rukia confirms before she tells him she will get rid of it. Saying that the Hollow attacked his family, Ichigo demands Rukia to release the spell she cast on him, but she refuses as she believes there's nothing he can do to help. As Rukia open the door of Ichigo's room, Karin crawls towards it and is able to see that Ichigo is alright. She quickly explains how everything happened, how blood suddenly started to pour down Isshin's back as he fell, how something huge attacked her and Yuzu and that she believed she had to warn him. Karin also says that she was able to see a little of what attacked them and tells him to get away, before she loses consciousness. Rukia checks on her, while Ichigo forcefully attempts to break free of her spell. She warns him not do it as he is only a human and that, most likely, there would be damage to his soul if he tried to do it. Nonetheless, Ichigo is able to break free of Rukia's spell, much to her shock. He grabs his baseball bat and goes downstairs, leaving her wondering how what she saw was possible. As Ichigo reaches the house's lower level, he quickly notices his father lying down unconscious against a wall, blood everywhere near him. He then notices a hole on another wall and identifies Fishbone D, currently in the middle of the road in front of his house. Initially, Ichigo gets scared as he expected a Hollow to be human-like in appearance and not a monster, but as he tries to deny that he's scared, he notices that the Hollow is holding Yuzu on his large right hand. He screams for her, before he dashes towards the Hollow to hit him with his baseball bat, but Fishbone D is faster and strikes him in the abdomen with a powerful punch, sending him crashing against a wall. As the baseball bat gets destroyed with the first attack, Ichigo is left defenseless for a new attack, but Rukia saves him by cutting through Fishbone D's right arm, causing him to release Yuzu. Ichigo is able to catch her and tends to her, until Rukia tells him to focus. Rukia assures him none of the souls of Ichigo's family members has been eaten yet. Ichigo then questions her on why the Hollow is attacking his family if he doesn't want to eat their souls, which is the motive for all Hollow attacks, according to Rukia. She explains that Hollows wander searching for souls with high spiritual power and that for that, arbitrary humans are sometimes attacked. Rukia then tells him that she has never seen or heard of a human who can see Shinigami and defeat their Kidō spells on their own or of a human with such high spiritual power. Rukia then deduces the Hollow is there to get Ichigo. He then asks if everything happening around him is his fault, but before Rukia can answer, Fishbone D attacks her from behind and punches her away towards a nearby wall. As Fishbone D moves to attack Ichigo once more, he stands up to him, challenging him to fight face to face and to take his soul if he can. The Hollow moves once again to attack Ichigo and attempts to devour him, but Rukia intercepts him and uses her own body and Zanpakutō to block the attack and injure Fishbone D's mouth. As the Hollow recoils in pain, Rukia falls forward to the ground, her body covered in blood from being cut by Fishbone D's teeth. Rukia tells him once again he doesn't have the power to fight a Hollow and asks him if he thought if everything would end if Fishbone D got Ichigo's soul. He asks her to forgive him. Rukia tells him that she's no longer able to fight and that they should just wait until they become his food. As Ichigo starts to curse himself, Rukia asks him if he wants to save his family. As he asks her how, Rukia points her Zanpakutō towards him and tells him he must become a Shinigami. Rukia tells Ichigo she has to pierce the middle of his chest with her Zanpakutō and insert half of her Shinigami power, in order for Ichigo to temporarily have Shinigami powers and to be able to fight the Hollow on equal terms. Ichigo asks Rukia if it's alright to do something like that, to which she replies that the chance of success is low and that he'll die if it fails. They then hear Yuzu talking in her sleep, telling Ichigo to go away as it is dangerous there. Ichigo reaches the conclusion he looks stupid being scared for himself, when his sisters are worrying about him as they are about to die. He then steps forward and accepts to try out Rukia's idea. Rukia tells him to stop calling her Shinigami and formally introduces herself. He does the same and grabs hold of the blade of Rukia's Zanpakutō, before they drive it through Ichigo's chest. As Rukia and Ichigo try to put in motion their plan to make Ichigo a Shinigami, Fishbone D charges towards them. Before he can reach them though, his left arm is cut off and Ichigo appears behind him, wearing a black kimono and wielding a humongous Zanpakutō. Ichigo then swings his Zanpakutō horizontally, cutting Fishbone D's right leg from the knee below, before finishing him off with a vertical, downward slash that cuts the Hollow in two. Equipment Baseball Bat: Prior to becoming a Shinigami and in his earlier days as one, Ichigo showed skill in the use of a baseball bat, swinging it accurately during a training session with Rukia's pitching machine and attempting to use it as a weapon against Fishbone D. Gikongan (義魂丸, Artificial Soul Pill): The Gikongan used by Ichigo contains Kon, a Mod Soul. It was given to him by Rukia, so that he could leave his human body on his own when Rukia was not around to do so for him. Following the incident when Kon used Ichigo's body to do as he well desired, Ichigo put the Gikongan inside a stuffed animal, allowing Kon to move freely until he needed to use him. After receiving the Substitute Shinigami Badge, Ichigo pretty much stops using the Gikongan. Powers & Abilities Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Physically, Ichigo's human body is in top form. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child, both professionally and by his father. The foundation of his fighting style is Karate. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo is proficient in counterattacks, takedowns and body locks. He has repeatedly caught an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand. He effortlessly defeats multiple bullies and gangsters on a regular basis and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, who is ranked the second strongest girl in all of Japan. He effortlessly knocked out three Lieutenants in rapid succession, while bare-handed, with a single strike each. While he has stopped training, constant attacks from bullies and his father keep his skills fresh. Former Powers & Abilities Zanpakutō Asauchi (浅打ち, Shallow Hit): Ichigo's first Zanpakutō when he became a Shinigami, a result of Rukia's deprived spiritual energy and not a result of Ichigo's own power. Therefore, this Asauchi couldn't evolve by assimilating Ichigo's essence and was destined to be an Asauchi forever. This Zanpakutō was a standard-looking katana, but oversized, with an equally-oversized brown sheath hung by a strap across his back and over his right shoulder. It had a rectangular bronze tsuba with gently inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short sides. The hilt's handle had a red wrapping and two light blue tassels attached to the handle's base, which was decorated with a flame design on its short sides. The large size is due to the unfocused but immense amount of Ichigo's spiritual power, which he did not know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Nevertheless, it was powerful enough to subdue a Gillian-class Menos and lesser Hollows, completely blocking a Cero from the former. It could upturn the ground with a single strike. Because of the weak nature of its spiritual energy, Byakuya Kuchiki easily cut off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo, and Kisuke Urahara subsequently sliced it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to obtain his own Shinigami powers and learn the name of his Zanpakutō in order to release its true form. Trivia Quotes References Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Shinigami Category:Male Category:Kurosaki Family Category:Visored